About Me

Born in the late 60's, Chesy hails from a Welsh mining village with a long name and was pretty glad when he got the Hell out of there. He got into Rock/Metal in about 1980, thanks to a TISWAS related incident (Rainbow video for All Night Long) and thankfully has never looked back.
Chesy often sang solo in the school choir, but thanks to a puberty related incident his voice is now completely bolloxed, although in his own head Paul thinks he sounds like a blend of Coverdale and Dio (R.I.P).
He was brought up on the classics - Deep Purple, Rainbow, Thin Lizzy, Rush, Whitesnake and loved melodic rock and the Hair Bands of the 80's. (Nowadays, he has progressed a little and prefers a more technical and/or progressive metal - Dream Theater, Rush, Symphony X, Porcupine Tree, Pain Of Salvation, Spock's Beard. He hates Black and Death Metal (can't stand the grunting) but for some unknown reason loves the magnificent Opeth! He wont stop this blog until his beloved FM finally play the likes of the NEC as a headlining act!!!

Thursday, 12 May 2016

April 2016 saw Frontiers put out The
Defiants, and excellent album by Danger Danger members Bruno Ravel, Rob
Marchello, and sometime singer Paul Laine. Well, May 2016 sees the turn of Ted
Poley. Rock stars have to make a living you know, and one album every seven
years (9 if you go off his last solo album) doesn’t cut the mustard. I’m
guessing D2 broke a huge fucking mirror and have waited for 7 years of
potential bad luck to subside before getting back in the studio(s). Danger
Danger were one of my bands of the festival when they played the inaugural Frontiers
festival in Milan back in 2014, so it’s a mystery why they haven’t recorded on
the back of this. At least if you’re a D2 fan, its bonus time, as you get not
one, but two albums from the guys in a matter of a few weeks. I’m also guessing
that Serafino has another album due out in June by Andy Timmons and Steve West?!

Hands up as to who is the most prolific
writer in rock history? Elton John, Jagger/Richards, McCartney? I doubt it, as
I reckon its Alessandro del Vecchio. He is the Frontiers ‘go to’ guy for
writing and producing, along with the brothers Martin. I honestly think Ale writes
a song before he has a crap every morning, he’s that prolific!

Has Ted come to the part with the attitude
‘Screw It!’ or has he ‘Get His Shit Together’ and about to ‘Rock America’? Gladly
it’s the latter, as the Martin Bros / Del Vecchio combination has come up
trumps and Ted has delivered an album true to his brand, style and personality!

The album starts with a ‘Bang Bang’, with
‘Let’s Start Something’, ‘Everything We Are’, and ‘Hands Of Love’, with the
latter coming straight out of the debut Danger Danger songbook, and it has JLT
as a writing credit. James Martin keeps it all in the family for ‘The Perfect
Crime’ as Issa pops in for duet, and it proves to be a great choice as they fit
each other like a studded leather glove. ‘Starts’ sees Ted up the ante a fair
bit and it is one of the best on offer here with its pacey chorus. ‘Higher’
proves to be no less catch and has a chorus that just screams ‘get the top down
on the car’. ‘You Won’t See Me Crying’ has some proper fist pumping moments,
just dog out your hair brush or ‘air mic’ of your choice and sing along, and is
followed by a heart-breaking ballad, the excellent ‘We Are Young’. Its up and
down in tempo for the last two song, the bouncy ‘Sirens’ and the wind down of
the lengthy, melancholic power ballad ‘Beneath The Stars’ with its cool out
solo by Percudani. You just want to hear more!

It aint ‘Danger Danger’ or ‘Screw It,!’
(what is?), but its probably the best Ted Poley solo album and you cannot say
fairer than that. Poley basically sings his arse off on ‘BTF’. Whether he needs
to record or tour remains to be seen, but Ted Poley is just the guy needed at
the likes of HRH AOR or Rockingham.

I have to doff my cap to all concerned
here, especially the songwriting and production. I’ll forgive Ted if it takes
him another 7 yrs to deliver an album if they all prove to be as good as this
one. ‘Beyond The Fade’ is a polished, accomplished and very worthy addition to
any AOR fans CD collection.

Sunday, 8 May 2016

In any other World (1985), or any other
time (also 1985), or any other dimension (also also 1985) Vega would be huge, HUUUUGE
I tell ya! Unfortunately the Earth is on a collision course. Donald Trump is looking
for World domination, by wanting to wipe out anyone other than American
(including illegal aliens, and the real aliens should they ever appear)! Our UK
president when not hiding his money in Panama, is taking the UK down to
oblivion by pissing on the poor, needy and working classes. So, in a world like
this today, its good to know that some people such as the Vegaboys (TM pending)
are still striving to be the best they can possibly be, and in the process
giving enjoyment to many a disaffected voter – old, young and in-between

May 13th sees the release of
Vega’s fourth album entitled “Who We Are’’, and, looking at the cover they
really couldn’t give a toss about what people think about them – with booze,
fags, and not exactly flattering caricatures adorning the cover. And that’s Vega
for you! They’ve courted discussion, last years Memorex-gate dig at HEAT for
using tapes’ and also been (and still are) at the forefront of European and
World AOR, with the Martin’s writing not only for Vega but also a lot of other
bands, and they will always give you a great opinion on their own music and
direction.

I think Vega have a formulae, which is
‘every song an anthem’, and this mantra has certainly seen them through the
last three albums, and has woven its way into ‘WWA’. ‘Explode’ is Vega’s Ronseal
opener. Its part ‘Waiting For The Big One’ 80s MTV for the masses with a modern
Vega ‘twist’, and Workman has never sounded better. ‘We Got It All’ is
certainly an autobiographical mission statement for Vega, and is certainly
powerful. ‘Every Little Monster’ is going for the ‘every song exceeds the last’
approach and is as catchy as Joe Pasquale’s ‘I know a song that’ll get on your
nerves’, its an instant implant. So far it’s melody, melody, melody, all the
way. With ‘Nothing Is Forever’ we hit a ballad that could be a contender for
Eurovision. White Flag’ is Vega’s first single from WWA, and have a video to
accompany it. It’s the no brainer choice – power, melody, groove, andAORsomeness.

‘Generation Now’ has a more menacing
opening, and huge chorus. You could get bored typing ‘huge chorus’ constantly
but that’s what we continuously have here. Where bands may put fillers towards
the back end, not Vega, If anything two of their strongest come back to back in
‘Ignite’, and ‘Saving Grace’, with the latter sounding a bit Diving For
Pearls-like and for me is the best song on the album.

Vega have done themselves proud here. As
‘Who We Are’ will be on many a fan’s Top 10 lists of 2016, for certain.

Vega should be huge, but whether or not
their upcoming tour will change fans perceptions remain to be seen. I don’t
think a tour with Magnum will bring a lot of new attention, whereas a support
on the ‘Heart’ tour would have done. If I were Vega, and Frontiers, I’d try to
get them some airtime and gig time in the States. The double denim and layered
hair brigade should go nuts over one of our finest rock exports

So, is ‘Who We Are’ better than their
debut? I think so. The only thing stopping Vega is themselves. For me, FM have
always been the pinnacle of British melodic rock, but now the younger
generation are hard on their tails…..and about to overtake!